Short Communication Survival of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna Zaglossus attenboroughi in New Guinea

Attenborough's long-beaked echidna Zaglossus attenboroughi is known from a single specimen collected in the Cyclops Mountains of northern Papua in 1961, and has previously been considered to be extremely rare if not already extinct. New fieldwork to investigate the continued survival of Z. attenboroughi was conducted on the north and south slopes of the Cyclops Mountains in May 2007 using community interviews, sign surveys and visual encounter surveys. Many villagers recognized photographs of long-beaked echidnas, were able to describe key biological characteristics of echidnas, and reported several recent sightings below 300 m elevation, referring to the animal as payangko. Although no echidnas were observed during fieldwork, diagnostic echidna feeding signs (imprints of nose pokes) were detected from < 300 In to 1,250 m and possibly up to 1,700 m elevation. These extensive reports and observations confirm that long-beaked echidnas are still present in the Cyclops Mountains, and descriptions provided by local informants strongly suggest that the reports refer to Z. attenboroughi. However, the species remains threatened by human impacts, primarily subsistence hunting and habitat loss. Efforts are now being made to learn more about the relationship of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna to all other Zaglossus species, and a project is being initiated with local communities to monitor sightings and increase awareness of this rare and evolutionarily distinct mammal.